Patient's question:
My baby is about 5 months old. Recently, he always coughs up. Sometimes he coughs up right after the nipple is placed in his mouth, and sometimes he coughs up right after finishing feeding, then spits it all out. My baby's bowel movements are also not good, about 8 days per time, but he doesn't cry when he has a bowel movement.Doctor's answer:
First, let's pay attention to the feeding position. Infants who are breastfed often experience spitting up, which is because their stomachs are like a water wheel—small in capacity. The cardiac sphincter (located near the esophagus, where it's soft and poorly closed) and the pylorus (located near the small intestine, where it's narrow and tight) contribute to this issue. Additionally, infants often swallow air while feeding, making it easy for milk to flow back from the stomach through the cardiac sphincter into their mouth, causing spitting up.How can we prevent infants from spitting up? If feeding is too frequent, some milk from the previous meal may still remain in the stomach, which will inevitably affect the intake of the next meal or lead to stomach fullness, resulting in spitting up.
Using the right feeding position: Some mothers prefer to feed while lying down. Adopting a face-to-face side-lying breastfeeding position increases the likelihood of spitting up. However, if the mother picks up the child to feed, the chances of spitting up are reduced.